Love in Another Time
by Difference-Equals-Normal
Summary: Lolita Roxanna Joyce is a broken 17-year-old with parents who are terrible. One night, as she lays bruised and hurt, a flash of light stuns her, and suddeny she's surrounded by anthropomorphic creatures, better known as the Loonatics!
1. Prolouge of Misery

_Sometimes the weirdest things happen for a reason...and it's usually the best reason of all- L.R.J._

It was a rainy Tuesday morning, about 5 in the morning. The dark stormy grey clouds just hanging over the city, making the streets seem just that little bit darker and more scary looking. Small crystal shaped droplets started falling form the sky, and very soon they became big fat droplets of water, that stung on impact with the skin. And it wasn't a light drizzle either; no it was a absolute waterfall of rain. Coincidently, this is just the type of situation I always seem to find myself in.

My name is a long one, but in it's full length I'm called Lolita Roxanna Joyce. There isn't anything really pretty about me: shoulder length strawberry blond hair, clear pale-ish skin, clear big blue eyes, and what most people would say a cute anime-type face. My favorite clothes to wear is a red tartan skirt that goes to mid-thigh length, black and white striped leggins, calf high buckle-strap boots. To keep my skirt up (since I'm a little on the under nourished side) I wear a simple black belt. On top I wear a baby blue tank top, and over that a black hoodie jacket with fur along the inside of the hood to keep my head warm. I also wear a blood red strip of material around my neck, to hide a scar that I don't like most people seeing.

Now I bet you're wondering: what's a girl like me doing out in the rain, doing nothing but walking and getting soaked to the bone? Well I'll tell you, just don't get to freaked out...

I'm hoping to die.

See, if I go home I'm most likely to face a drunken father who does nothing but beats me with his belt, or my high-on-ice-mother, who'll come after me with a kitchen knife. Or possibly both. So yeah; not a pretty family. That's why I try and spend as much time as I can away from home so I don't have to go back to that place. But then again, there was always a way for me to find myself trudging through the front door, timidly, and calling out if my parents were home...

As I found myself doing at this precise point in time.

"Hello?" I called quietly, "Mommy, daddy?" How pitiful; a 17 year old who still calls her parents 'mommy and daddy'. I took a tiny little step into the house, just as there was an almighty crash from the floor upstairs. I flinched at the sound, instantly my hands flew to cover my head. I always reacted like this when a noise like that happens. I pulled my hands away from my head, just in time to see my drunken father and high-off-her-face mother coming down the stairs, swaying and speaking in their usual drunken slur. I honestly couldn't see my resemblance from them anymore: they used to be clean freaks, but after an accident, they've become...well, this. Then my father noticed that I was home.

I couldn't remember what came first; the half empty bottle of vodka, or the china tea pot. Either way, something clipped my shoulder, then something grabbed my arm and yanked me forward, throwing me to the floor. I whimpered when the splintered wooden floor bit into exposed flesh on my body before chancing a glance over my shoulder and up. My parents were in another drunken/drug induced rage; and this time it felt a little different. This time, it felt like I really was going to die.

They began to beat me; my mother used the trusty kitchen knife while my father whipped at me like a disobedient dog. I cried each time they hurt me, but soon the tears and sobs died in my throat as the pain started to rise. I realized soon enough that the beatings they gave me, and the lack of food I had to choose from, where making my body weak. So weak that I felt something wet coming from my arms, legs and back. I curled into a fetal position on the floor, shielding my head with my arms. I couldn't really make out what my parents were saying, it was all a faint slur of words to me now. Before my eyes grew too dark to see from, there was a bright flash of light which engulfed everything. Then a sudden yet re-assuring warmth passed over my body. Maybe this was it. Maybe I had actually died and now passed over to the other side. I let out a small, fragile sounding whimper as I screwed my eyes shut, afraid to see what new things awaited me.


	2. Epilouge to Misery

_To see the world in a grain of sand_- William Blake, "Auguries of Innocence."

If I was in the afterlife now, then this was one strange way of waking up to it. I could feel something soft beneath me, and something over top of my body to keep me warm. I also felt something wrapped around various parts of my body, and my skin was itchy. As my mind started to work again, so did my hearing. "You think she's ok?" a soft feminine voice asked, "she's been out for three days now."

"Can't say I blame her: those wounds on her body were pretty nasty." another voice said, but it was male. It didn't sound like my parents: maybe I wasn't in the afterlife, maybe the police came and stopped my parents before the killed me, and took me to a hospital. "Still, pretty weird don't ya think?" another male's voice asked; it had a slight twang in the accent, "her just showin' up in the street like that?"

"And in those clothes too." The first voice, the female, added, "they haven't made clothes like that for a long time." Ok then, maybe I was in a coma and have been like that for a few years at least. Ok, that's it. I'm in a coma, I'm in a coma. I am in a coma. "Poor thing; she looks so thin." the female's voice whispered quietly, "what happened to her?"

"No idea, Lexi." The accented voice replied.

"I just hope she wakes up soon." the second voice, the male without the accent, said in a sort of concerned way. It was then I felt something touching my hand, gently rubbing it. "Hope you get better soon, kiddo." the accented males voice told me. Something inside my mind twigged, making my hand flinch. "Whoa! Ok, saw that!" The female softly exclaimed, "Is she waking up?"

"Scans say...yes." the male-without-accent answered. I felt another hand on my shoulder, this time coming from the left. "Hey sleepy head." the female, Lexi I think her name was, called softly, "Rise and shine." my eyelids began twitching slightly, and my whole body suddenly jumped involuntary. Honestly, I spooked myself when I did that. I gave a weak groan as I felt the circulation coming back into my body again, allowing my limbs to move. "Oh boy." I managed to say weakly.

"She's talking; that's good." the second male's voice commented. I scrunched my eyes a little, before they began to open up. The room was distorted a little, but soon it was coming into focus.

Just like the three strangely dressed people looking down at me.

One was a blond haired pink rabbit with a black uniform on, the other was a rabbit too, only yellow. The third...eh, I'm going to go with a green coyote or wolf. "Ok, this is just trippy." I stated weakly, trying to lift up my hand to rub my hand, "I'm seeing animals."

"Anthropomorphic animals, actually." the green coyote/wolf thing corrected me. I just stared at them all for a few seconds before I heard a door open somewhere. "So is she awake yet?!" Someone asked as an orange duck-billed head barged into my view and staring right at me.

Ok, time to panic.

I let off a scream, pushing the...thing away from me and scrambling backwards as fast as I could move my body. "Ow!" the duck creature exclaimed as it flew back into the arms of some giant purple creature thingie. "Oh my god, oh my god!" I whimpered continuously, crouched against a wall. "Whoa, easy there." the pink rabbit girl said, holding her hands out in a peaceful manner, "it's ok there, we're not going to hurt you." she took another step closer, making me flinch backwards.

"I think it might be best if some of us left." the coyote thing offered, but it was more of a hint for people....things to leave, "Lexi can you re-bandage her injuries? There's fresh ones under the bench."

"Sure thing, Tech." the pink rabbit agreed as he and the yellow rabbit ushered the other two creatures out of the room. I had to admit, I felt a little more safer now that it was just the girl rabbit and I, but I wasn't quite trusting yet. "Sorry about Duck; he's a little crazy when it comes to someone new." the girl apologized as she pulled out a box from underneath a bench somewhere and placed on the bed by my leg, "I'm Lexi Bunny, but you can call me Lexi. You gotta name?" It took me a few seconds to realize that she was talking to me so that I could feel a little more at ease. "Roxy." I answered quietly.

"Roxy, huh?" Lexi questioned with a smile, "is that nickname or something?"

"Shortened middle name." I answered softly.

"So then what's your full name?" Lexi asked me, holding up my right arm to undress the already stained-with-dry-blood-bandages. I winced when she took them off completely; I had some bruising, and the cuts were about two centimeters wide and an inch long. They were going to take a long time to heal properly. "Your full name, sweetie." Lexi gently probed me, to get my mind off the injuries.

"Lolita Roxanna Joyce." I answered her, looking away from my arm.

"Yikes, that's a mouthful." she smiled jokingly, "How about Lola, or do you prefer Roxy?"

"Anyone is ok." I answered her. I was starting to like Lexi; she was being very nice to me. She finished taking off all the old bandages before cleaning my injuries then applying clean bandages on me. "So Lola, where do you live?" Lexi asked as she cleaned up the mess.

"Melbourne Australia." I answered then titled my head a little, "where am I?" Lexi paused in her chore before looking at me. "In Acmetropolis." she told me then paused again, "what year did you say again?"

"I didn't, but 2009." I tell her regardless. Then cue the empty feeling in my stomach, similar to a bottomless pit, "Something tells me...I'm a long way from home."

"You got that right." She admitted with a grimace, "it's the year 2772." And there goes that happy reality I was prepared to live out in the afterlife.

"2772?" I repeated her, "as in...the future? Flying cars?"

"Well, not so much flying cars; we have hovering cars, but yeah, pretty much." she agreed then offered her hands, "feeling up to meeting the others yet?" I guess my uncertainty was showing on my face.

"Don't worry; I'll keep Duck of you till you're feeling better." she promised me. My mouth set itself into a small line before I hesitantly put my hands in hers and let her ease me off the bed. When I looked down at my clothes, I noticed that I was wearing a black and pink uniform, similar to Lexi. "Sorry: you're other clothes are in the wash." Lexi apologized, "they should be ready soon enough."

"Thank you." I said quietly and let her lead me out of the room and into another larger one. There was a wide rec area, then a small step or two that led into the TV portion of the room, complete with the biggest wide-screen I'd ever seen. That just so happened to be where the other anthropomorphic creatures were sitting. All of them I remember, except for one that was new. And it was the green coyote/wolf that first noticed Lex and I. "well look who's up and walking already?" he asked in a playful teasing tone, "feeling any better, ma'am?"

"A little." I nodded timidly, "thank you."

"Go easy on her guys, she's a little overwhelmed." Lexi told them up front as she led me over to the couches and sat me beside the green coyote/wolf before sitting on the arm of the couch. The others gathered around me slightly, especially the orange duck thing. But before he got his beak to open Lexi shot him a warning glance that shut him up. Wow; she's good. "Anyway guys, meet Lolita Roxanna Joyce." Lexi introduced for me, "this is Ace Bunny." She pointed out the yellow and black uniformed rabbit. "That's Slam Tasmanian." Lexi went on, pointing to the giant purple creature. "Descendant of a Tasmanian devil." the green coyote/wolf thing whispered to me. Dang, my look of helplessness struck yet again. "This is Danger Duck." Lexi introduced, gesturing to the orange billed boy.

"The name is Quack-inator." He corrected her with a trying-to-be-heroic pose. I quirked an eyebrow and looked up at Lexi. "He tries too hard." I stated. She hummed in agreement.

"That's Rev Runner over there." Lexi carried on with the introductions, this time pointing to a red bird-like creature. "Hey-there-nice-to-meet-you-Lolita-is-it-ok-if-I-call-you-Lola-cos-it's-easier-than-saying-your-whole-name-not-that-it's-a-bad-thing-or-anything." Rev spoke...very fast. I'm surprised I even caught all of that.

"Did you catch that?" Ace asked me, and by his tone he probably thought I didn't.

"Every word." I answered him, "Lola's just fine."

"And finally this is Tech E. Coyote." Lexi finished, gesturing to the green creature beside me, "He's the one that found you in the street."

"It wasn't just me." he mumbled quietly, looking at anything but me. I could've sworn there was a blush on his cheeks. "Well, thank you anyway; for taking me in." I thanked them all.

"No problem, Lola." Ace smiled at me.

"Yeah it's always nice having new company around." Danger Duck agreed, eyeing me suggestively.

"Eyes to yourself, buster, before they'll be checking out your insides." I warned him, making him back off slightly. "Ooh, girl's got the edge." Lexi smiled encouragingly, "you're gonna fit in just fine here."

"You-mean-she's-gonna-stay?" Rev speed talked again, sounding excited.

"Guess I have to now. I don't really know anything about this place." I admitted sheepishly, "or time."

"Or time?" Tech picked up on the word.

"Apparently, Lola's from the year 2009." Lexi explained to him, "which explains her clothes." On the mention of clothes again, my hand reached up around my neck. I let out a small exhale of air; my red scarf was still around my neck. "Well-I-don't-know-about-you-guys-but-I'm-really-hungry!" Rev declared, "Hey-Lola-would-you-like-something-to-eat? Pizza-maybe-or-Chinese-take-out-whatever-your-pick."

"Uh...pizza sounds good." I said quietly.

"Ok-pizza-it-is-Anyone-else-want-some?" Rev speed-asked everyone else.

"Pepperoni for me." Tech told him, Lexi and Ace going for a vegetarian each, "what about you, Lola?"

"Just whatever everyone else is having." I answered timidly. After everyone placed their orders Rev ran off, a stream of fire left in his wake. Wow, that sure was fast. "So Lola, what's the past like?" Danger Duck asked me, getting right into the questions. Slam, Tech, Ace and Lexi seemed like they wanted to know as well, but they weren't being as forthright about it like him. "Uh...well, it's not like this place." I commented weakly.

"So no flying cars, no jet packs, nothing?" he asked.

"Uh-uh." I shook my head, "the only way to get around was train, bus, tram, car or man power."

"Man power?" He echoed.

"In the easier-for-you-to-get language; walking." Tech told him, sounding a little smug about it.

"Walking?!" Duck cried out.

"Yeah, leg power: somethin' you could stand to use every now and then." Ace commented teasingly, and the other three laughed in agreement. Just then Rev came back with the pizzas. At the delightful smell of pepperoni and vegetarian pizza, my tummy rumbled lowly, catching their attention.

"Boy, someone sounds hungry, and it ain't Slam." Ace stated with a friendly smile.

"Sorry." I smiled sheepishly. Rev handed out the pizzas, and slapped Duck's hand away from mine.

"Hands-off-her-pizza-Duck-she-needs-to-eat-no-offense-Lola-but-you-look-like-you-could-use-something-nourishing-to-eat." he speed talked his sentence again.

"He's got a point though." Ace told me, "you look a little thin." I didn't add any comment, mostly because I knew it was true, and if I did say something it meant they'd ask about my past. Literally my past, and I wasn't quite feeling up to sharing it. "Something on your mind, Lola?" Tech asked me. I mentally snapped out of my thoughts and forced myself to smile at him. "No not really; just wondering how many pizzas I need to have before I look healthy again." To get out of anything else I took out a slice of pepperoni pizza from the box Rev gave me and took a bite out of it. Let's just say my tastebuds went into overdrive. "Whoa! This is excellent pizza!" I commented, "we didn't have anything this good back in 2009. Sure a few places came close but, wow!"

"Glad you like it." Lexi commented with a smile, "By the time you finish that your other clothes should be finished, then we'll get your room set up."

"Thanks Lexi." I told her before taking another bite out of my pizza. As we ate the Loonatics (what they called themselves) told me stuff about their time and what they do. And it was a lot to take in.

"So in the year 2772 a comet hits Acmetropolis, knocking it off it's axis and sent out supernatural energies that gave you guys superpowers?" I summed down after they told me their story.

"Pretty much." Ace nodded.

"Wow, now I feel real safe." I laughed lightly, the others laughing as well. After the pizzas were finished Lexi took me on a tour of the building, and getting my clothes back too. They looked like I just bought them; there wasn't a speck of blood on them anywhere. When we got back to the living room/TV area Duck wasn't around, Ace was on a floating platform; possibly meditating, Slam and Rev were playing a video game of some sort and Tech was busy typing on a computer. "So enjoy the tour?" Lexi asked me. There were so many rooms in this place, I had a hard time of tracing them all. My confusion must've appeared on my face again, making her laugh. "You'll get the hang of it." she promised me before going over to Tech. I crossed my arms over my chest to try giving myself some comfort. 'So here I am, in the future.' I thought to myself, 'I wonder what happened to my parents?'

* * *

I'd like to thank **cat2772**, **Academia Cicero **and **ktgirlawesome** for reviewing 'Prolouge to Misery.'  
Much obliged ladies/gents, much obliged.


	3. Loonatics on Ice

_Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice_- Robert Frost, 1916

A few days later of being in Acmetropolis, I was finding it a bit easy to fit in. It wasn't all that much different from 2009 (though I was profusely kidding myself), and if there was something I didn't understand, either Tech or Rev would help me understand it. Ace and Lexi also helped me practice martial arts, since I needed to know how to defend myself in Acmetropolis, and according to them I was a very quick learner. I still call it luck that I managed to flip Ace onto his back! Slam usually followed me around like a lost puppy or something; not that I blame him. I did give him something to worry about concerning me.

My first conscious night in Acmetropolis I was having trouble sleeping, mostly because of my past kept coming to haunt me. I was sitting on my bed crying one minute, the next I was enfolded in Slam's arms. He grunted in English, but I couldn't understand what he was saying. I don't know how, but I found myself telling him about what happened to me, and why I cried myself to sleep all the times. Since that night, he's also been someone I could go to for a private talk, or for a hug: he gives great warm-hearted hugs. Duck...well, he's been treating me more or less like anyone else, only he tends to ogle at me when I'm not looking, which Slam tends to take care of for me. I think he got the point fast enough.

It happened to be the hottest heat-wave Acmetropolis ever had too; triple digits and climbing. But since I grew up in Australia, I was more accustomed to the heat than the others. Case in point when Tech came back from a trip to the electronics store sweating and dehydrated. "Yeesh, you look like you went through a fire pit, Tech." Ace commented.

"Triple degree heat does that to people." I say as I passed the coyote a glass of water and placed a damp cool wash cloth on the back of his neck and another on his forehead. "Thanks Lola." he panted before taking a long drink from the glass.

"How is it that you're not affected by the heat?" Ace asked me as I refilled the empty glass.

"Australia has...had, more like it, a mix climate. It could be rainy one day, desert hot the next. Summer's were especially tough, considering 2009 was still in a drought. So we learned to stay cool in other ways without using so much water." I explained, handing the full glass to Tech then re-damping the wash clothe, "So I guess you could say I was born to handle the heat."

"Lucky." Tech mumbled before taking anther long sip of the water.

"A little tip, if you're dehydrated go take a cold shower." I informed him, "it really helps."

(Tech's Point of view)

One particular day in the heat wave, it suddenly became very chilly, almost artic weather. Rev had gone out to get some pizza, but when he came back it was frozen over. "Brr! Now that's cold!" I stated as I bit into a slice, "Where'd ya get it? Iceland?" I then asked Rev.

"Actually, no." he told me, "I-just-picked-it-up-from-the-pizza-joint-in-downtown-which-I-must-say-is-abnormally-cold-at-this-time-of-year-but-if-you-really-like-the-pizza-they-have-in-Iceland-I-could-go-and-get-some-and-be-back-in-4.2-seconds-but-of-course-that's-just-an-estimation-because-you-really-don't-know-about-traffic" I quickly shoved the pizza slice in my hand into his mouth to stop him from talking anymore. "That was one of those questions that didn't require an answer." I told him as I poked at the frozen pizza. I spied Ace sitting on the floating meditation platform with his sword. "Hey Ace." I called, holding up the frozen pizza. He opened his eyes and grinned.

"On it, Tech." he said before his eyes shot laser beams at the pizza, making it unfrozen and edible.

"Extra crispy." I smiled then looked over my shoulder, "Pizza, Duck?"

"Are you kidding?" he questioned, busy checking himself in a blue cape in the mirror, "I've already had my protein shake. It's vitally important to maintain a superhero physic because you can't be flabby when you're" he paused for a 'dramatic' effect, "The Duck-inator!"

"Yesterday you were calling yourself 'Super Duper Duck'." Ace pointed out to him.

"Yeah, wasn't quite rolling off the tongue." he shrugged, "besides I need a name that will fit on the costume."

"How about....Duck?" Ace offered him. I choked back a snicker before taking a bit out of the pizza as Duck replied a sarcastic 'very funny'. At that point the doors slid open, and a shivering Lola walked in. She was wearing the clothes I found her in, albeit they were clean of blood, and despite the warm hoodie jacket she was wearing, she looked really cold. "Lola, are you ok?" I asked her.

"N-n-no." she replied through chattering teeth, "It's s-so c-c-cold." she was rubbing her arms with her hands, but it didn't look like it helped. "Psst. Tech." I looked behind me to see Ace holding up a blanket from the couch; he had the same idea I did. He tossed me the blanket which I caught in my hands. I went over to Lola's side and draped the blanket over her shoulders and rubber her arms with my hands. "Feeling better?" I asked.

"A little bit." she smiled sheepishly, "Thanks Tech." I smiled back and led her over to the couch for her to sit down. "I thought you were used to this kinda weather?" Ace asked her.

"I'm used to heat and rain, not ice age temperatures." she answered, her teeth only slightly chattering now. Ace sat beside her to keep her warm while I went back over to the pizza. That girl may be human, but she seemed so much more. The door opened again, this time it was Lexi dancing to some music that came out of her headphones. "Tech, did you order more than one pie?"she asked me as she pulled out the earphones. "No, why?" I chomped through a pizza slice in my mouth.

"Cos Slam is in the house." she answered, gesturing to her glowing ears. But before I got a chance to groan another door opened, and a frozen Slam waddled in. "That's not good." Lola shivered from the couch, just the phone alarm rang. A holographic image of a golden yellow lady appeared in the centre of the room. "Loonatics, we have a problem." she announced.

"You got that right Zadavia." Ace agreed as he wiped a circle in the frosted window to look outside, "I'd say we got a serious problem."

"Who's that?" I looked to my side to see Lola standing beside me.

"Our boss." I answered her quietly, "Zadavia." As if she heard me Zadavia looked in our direction and spotted Lola. "And who is this girl?" she questioned. Lola stiffened slightly then moved herself behind me, obviously scared by Zadavia, which said boss noticed. "It's ok Lola, Zadavia ain't gonna hurt ya." Ace assured the girl then looked to the holographic image, "this is our new friend Lola. She managed to get here from the past."

"The past you say?" Zadavia questioned then looked at Lola thoughtfully, "Interesting. What year in the past?"

"2009." I answered her, "From Australia, apparently." Zadavia continued to look thoughtful at Lola.

"Eh, you were here about a problem?" Duck politely probed her. We all sat around a table with Zadavia's holographic image coming from the middle. I didn't know about the others, but I saw Lola as part of the team already, so I gently tugged on her arm and let her sit in my lap. It would also help her to get warm too. "What's up, Zadavia? Certainly not the temperature." Ace questioned. On the holo-screen, there were numerous images of a really large iceberg that had crashed into the docks.

"So far no body can figure out where this iceberg came from." Zadavia informed us all, "I don't have to tell you what will happen if the temperature keeps dropping."

"I knew it; we're gonna lose cable again." Duck complained to Lexi. Lola groaned quietly and hung her head. I felt her annoyance. "Ok maybe I do have to tell you." Zadavia corrected herself, pointedly at Danger Duck..

"If the temperature keeps dropping, we'll have another ice age." Lola informed him instead, surprising us, "And unlike you guys I don't have fur on my body to keep me warm. Or superpowers."

"When the meteor hit earth, your super powers weren't the only after effect. This iceberg could be related." Zadavia agreed, giving Lola an appreciative nod. Lola just ducked her head in her shoulders and seemed to blush. "I think we can handle one ice berg." Ace assured Zadavia with his usual grin.

"Acmetropolis is counting on you to take care of this. Zadavia out." the holograph image said as it disappeared into the table. "When she goes out, where does she go out?" Lexi asked, "the movies?"

"Tech, we'll need some toys to melt this ice cube." Ace told me. Again with the names!

"Excuse me chief, they're not toys." I informed him testily, "they're hand-crafted precision alloy instruments."

"We'll take those too. But first the toys." Ace stated as he got to his feet. I groaned quietly as they all headed to the laboratory. "It doesn't really matter what they call them, Tech." Lola said as she got off my lap, "all that matters is that they do what you built them to do."

"I know. I just wish they'd call them by the proper names sometimes." I admitted to her as we walked after everyone else.

"No offense, but calling them toys is a bit more handier in a tight situation." Lola grimaced slightly, "if you've only got five seconds before...I don't know- another comet hits earth, you're gonna need to say 'get me the comet destroying toy!' instead of 'get me the comet destroying hand-crafted precision alloy instrument!'" As much as I hate to admit it, she did have a point. "And besides, if the bad guys hear you guys call them toys, they're not likely to take you seriously therefore making it easier on you guys to take them down." Ok I really had to admit it; she had a way of making something seem good about people calling my equipment 'toys'.

In the lab, I handed everyone a small circular disc. Lola just watched everyone else; I think she was having doubts about what it could do. "The Retro Fire Master Blaster." I announced to everyone as I handed the last to Rev, "Hold it in the palm of your hand, squeeze twice and" I was cut off when Rev tried his, and a gun appeared around his right arm. "Cool!" he cried and pointed it at an invisible enemy. "Whoa careful, Rev! Wouldn't want to fry Lola by mistake." Lexi teased him, "Although hiding behind Tech has it's advantages." I was about to question her when I glanced over my shoulder and saw Lola peeking over at Rev. "Don't-worry-Lola-I-wouldn't-even-dream-of-firing-anything-at-you." Rev assured her. "I know, but accidents can happen." she replied in a tiny voice. Slam was fiddling with his when he accidently dropped it and stood on it, making the Master Blaster form on his foot instead. It fired off, sending him rocketing around the room and off the walls like a ping-pong ball. Lola gave a cry as he barreled towards us but I acted quickly enough to pull her out of the way. My back hit the edge of the desk beside me while I pressed Lola against my body to keep her out of the war path. "Uncurl your toes!" I shouted to Slam as he rocketed about, "Uncurl your toes!" he did so and landed on the ground, the gun reverting to its circular disk form. "You gotta love the toys." Lexi smiled to Ace.

"Time to crush some ice." Ace replied in agreement, "Let's jet."

"Uh-that-would-mean-letting-go-of-Lola-Tech." Rev pointed out to me. I remembered that Lola was still pressed against my body. "Might as well bring Lola with us." Ace pointed out, "As we're thawing the ice cube out there she can get the frozen people out of the way." Bring Lola out into possible danger? Was he crazy?! What if something was frozen inside of that ice berg, and if we thaw it out she could be in danger since she has no powers! Apparently the thought was written all over my face. "Uh, Tech?" Lola asked quietly, and a bit breathlessly, "gut...crushing...not pleasant."

"Sorry!" I winced and let her go quickly. She gasped and stumbled slightly but Rev caught her before she fell to the floor. "Ok, I think I need to work up some decent body fat." Lola groaned as she rubbed her side, "and by decent I mean a lot."

"Either that or Tech is stronger than he looks." Ace joked. We all raced to get our jet packs on and head outside. I was a little uneasy about letting Lola go out, but if Ace said she could be helpful then I had to trust his judgement. "You can come with me, Lola." I told her as I pulled her closer to my body again, "just wrap your arms around my neck and hang tight."

"But not so tight to cut your circulation off, right?" she questioned as she did what I told her to do. It felt so...different, having her close to my body again. I could feel my heart jumping about wildly inside my chest. I started up the jet pack and launched myself into the air, Lola gasping in fright and tightening her grip around me. Her face was hidden in my shoulder; I guess she didn't like heights.

As we flew through the air toward the ice berg, I could hear Rev talking. "Would-you-look-at-that-thing?! It's-gotta-be-the-biggest-iceberg-I've-ever-seen-and-I've-seen-some-doozees-do-you-think-we-should-have-put-more-juice-in-the-blaster-not-that-I-doubt-your-expertise-or-anything-but-that-is-one-giant"

"Rev, watch where you're talking!" Ace alerted him. Rev concentrated on his flying and pulled up in time not to hit the giant ice berg.

"Ok, what wise guy moved Mount Everest?" I asked as he hovered in the air beside me.

"Do I need to answer that?" I heard Lola whine into my shoulder. I felt sorry for the girl. I quickly lowered myself to the ground and gently set Lola's feet down first. "It's ok Lola, you can look again." I told her gently. She slowly pulled away and unwrapped her arms from around my neck. "Just stay here and if there's any people we un-freeze, get them out of here." I instructed her, "Ok with all that?"

"As long as I don't have to fly again." She nodded. I gave her a reassuring smile before taking a step back and flew back up into the air to join the others again. "All right, snow cones for everyone." Ace instructed everyone as we fanned out in a circle around the iceberg top, "Set your blasters to thaw." everyone activated their blaster and began firing a continuos beam of heat at the ice berg, but it didn't seem to do very much. "Ok cease fire! Cease fire!" Ace ordered everyone as we each shut our weapons off. "How could my Retro Fire master Blasters not work?" I asked myself as my invention shrank back into disc size again. "No worries Tech, there's always plan B." Ace assured me as he flew down to street level. We all followed him and landed on the ground. Lola came out of hiding and came over to my side. "So what now?" she asked us all, rubbing her arms again. Darn, I should've made her wear a warmer jacket; close proximity to the iceberg must be affecting her. "Plan B." I answered simply, stepping closer to her and wrapping my arms around her body and kept her close, "I think I'll regret this, but I'm going to let Lexi take you shopping after this is done: you need decent winter clothes." I informed her.

"No argument there." Lola replied, shivering slightly.

"You're on, Slam buddy." Ace declared, as our strongman began spinning as fast as a tornado. Lola flinched in shock and tried backing away. "Easy there, Lola." I gently assured her, "Slam's in complete control over it." She whimpered quietly as we watched him zoomed around the iceberg. "Hoo, what did this guy have for breakfast, huh?" Ace asked as the ice melted and the temperature rose. As the temperature rose, the ice encasing the humans nearby began to melt, setting them free. "Glorified zamboni." Duck complained, "Chipping ice isn't a super power. Quacking is a superpower. Observe." He crouched down a little before activating his powers. With a flash of light he disappeared from in front of us to inside the iceberg. "You can stop observing now." he grunted weakly. The sight made Lola giggle to herself. "Yeah, he gets like that a lot." I told her as we watched the ice melt. Duck was released from the iceberg, and the temperature continued to climb to about 78 degrees. "Good guys; 1 mother nature; nutin'." Ace declared as the last of the ice melted away. Slam was on the ground, getting his breath back. "Hang on, Ace." Lexi informed him, her sonic hearing at work, "Mother nature might be done, but I'm picking something up."

"Perhaps a high pitched dog whistle?" Duck asked sarcastically as the remaining iceberg started to hiss, belching out masses of steam and breaking apart. We all moved a safe distance away as the falling ice caused small waves to flow past us. Lola gave a small gasp as the water bumped into us, nearly knocking us both over, if it wasn't for Slam standing behind us. The mist parted to reveal an impressive looking silhouette of a...ship? Everyone let out an astonished gasp before a small door opened in the ships hull, revealing a few giant something's. They came rushing out and jumped down before us. "Boy are you guys lost?" Ace inquired sarcastically.

"They're not what I think they are, are they?" Lola asked me quietly, holding onto me just that little bit tighter. Another of the giant robot things landed in front of us, an looked different from the others. I'm guessing this was the leader of them. "I'm going to say 'yes, they are what you think they are', Lola." I told her quietly as I pushed her behind me. What we had in front of us were a bunch of robotic vikings. "what's up, doc?" Ace inquired the leader.

"I am Gunnar." the white armored Viking robot declared himself.

"Gunnar what? Go to a Viking convention at the Civic Centre?" Ace cracked as a joke.

"No. We are here to take over your world." the white Viking Gunnar declared.

"You know, you frosted flakes might as well go back to where you came from, cos this is a 'no invasion' zone." Ace joked again. He was always like this, taunting the enemy before taking them down.

"We will conquer your world by any means necessary!" Gunnar thundered

"No, you won't." Ace told him.

"Yes, we will." Gunnar declared

"No, you won't!" Ace.

"Yes, we will!" Gunnar.

"Yes, you will." Ace said smugly.

"No we won't conquer your world!" Gunnar growled angrily. Lola giggled a little bit behind me; obviously it was amusing for her to see Ace outsmarting a robot with words. Well, she had a point.

"Have it your way." Ace told him.

"Ooh I'll enjoy crushing you rabbit!"Gunnar declared angrily, bring his sword over his head then bringing down where Ace was standing. Our fearless leader just jumped out of the way in time.

"Oh yeah, like that's ever gonna happen." Ace stated sarcastically before bring out his sword and started to attack Gunnar. "Ok this is definitely a new one for me." Lola commented as we watched those two fight each other. "Trust me, you haven't seen anything yet." Lexi assured her as Ace jumped down again in front of us. "I could keep this up all day." He stated to Gunnar. Give him half the chance, he probably would. "Taste my cold steel." Gunnar declared as he pressed a button on his sword, which began to glow a white electric sort of light. At this point in my life, I would like to make it known that I have a very bad feeling about this. "Time to chill out, bunny!" Gunnar roared as he pointed his sword at us all, and the white light turned into a beam. "I don't think so!" Ace defied and his laser eyes went to work. Both beams met in the middle causing an explosion of yellow light before the two fighters moved in closer. "Ok, when I thought super heroes, this was not what I had in mind." Lola told me.

"Please tell me you weren't thinking about Clark Kent's Superman?" I asked her.

"No I thinking more...ok, I was thinking Clark Kent's Superman." she admitted quietly.

"Hammers of frost!" two of the other Vikings roared as the war-type hammers began glowing too. They struck the ground with them, causing it to freeze over! The ice covered the ground underneath Ace's feet, making him slip and slid into us, but he didn't give up on his eyes-to-sword fight with Gunnar. "Their weapons seem to be charged with sub-zero hypothermal liquid solidification energy, that when fired can freeze" I started to explain when Ace cut across me.

"Yeah I got that part figured out." Then the rest of the Vikings fired their weapons at us with the freezing energy. We all exclaimed in shock, Lola a bit louder than the rest of us. I pulled her in front of me and tried shielding her as best as I could, but eventually the ice covered us all.

Well we would've been trapped in that ice dome forever if it hadn't bee for Slam using his powers to break the ice. "Cold! So very, very cold!" Lola whimpered as she (and the rest of us) shivered then gave a surprised shout when she tripped over nothing and landed on her backside on the ice, "Ow."

"Are-you-ok-Lola-you're-not-hurt-anywhere-are-you-cos-that-was-some-slip-up-you-just-had-are-you-sure-you-haven't bruised-anything" Rev immediately asked her as he and I helped her to stand back up again. "I'm ok Rev." Lola assured him, "I'm fi-whoa!" she once again fell down, only this time she slid a few feet. Duck and Ace were trying not to laugh, which resulted in Lexi hitting them upside the backside of their heads. "I think you'd better keep off your feet for a while." I told Lola as Slam easily picked her up in his arms. "I think I need to learn how to ice skate again." She said as Slam gently set her on her feet again. This time she was wise enough to hold onto his arm to keep steady. We all started walking the direction the Vikings had gone in, and Lola was getting better and standing up on the ice by skating along. "It's been ages since I've been skating on ice." She commented as she turned around and skated backwards so she could see us, "I haven't done this since I was 10."

"So that would mean you're?" I asked her. We never did ask her age.

"I'm 17." she answered, turning around again.

"Hey-you're-the-same-age-as-me-and-Duck!" Rev commented happily, "Lexi-and-Slam-are-18-while-Tech-and-Ace-are-the-oldest-at-19." Lola gave a small whistle before leaping into the air whilst spinning. I held me breath hoping she didn't slip down again, but I relaxed when she landed on the ground elegantly on one foot. "Whoo, you're good." Lexi commented her as she skated back towards us, the rest of us applauding her lightly.

"Thanks Lexi." she smiled, just as a familiar phone alert rang.

"Sounds like Zadavia's ring." Ace commented as we walked over to the phone on the side of the road. Rather than have her try another ice-skating trick, I took Lola's hand in mine and dragged her over, which she had no problem about. Lexi pressed a button on the phone key pad before asking 'hello?'.

"I guess you know by now these are no ordinary Vikings." Zadavia commented as her holographic image appeared. "Yeah, they didn't even sound Scandinavian." Ace agreed.

"I believe the iceberg slipped in through one of the inter-dimensional portals that opened up after the meteor hit. These mutant techno Vikings must have been frozen inside during an ice storm in their own dimension, but that they're here in Acmetropolis and awake"

"No offense but I heard it already." Lola commented as she politely interrupted Zadavia, "now that the Vikings are awake and here, they're going to freeze everything over to make it easier for them to conquer."

"Precisely, but right now you have bigger problems." Zadavia commented just as a giant ice ball landed on the phone booth, smashing it to pieces and knocking everyone onto their backs.

"Ow. Ok, I think I bruised my tailbone this time." Lola whined. Despite landing on me? I'm the one with the bruised back!

"I didn't get the last part. What other bigger problems?" Duck asked as we all sat up gingerly. Lola answered with a loud gasp. "Look out!" she screamed and pushed Rev and I out of the way on an incoming ice ball.

"If their trail leads into the city, what are they doing back on their boat?" Lexi questioned as we all stared at the three Vikings on the ship, manning the dragon-head ice cannon. "Maybe they didn't want to miss the dinner show, Gunnar on Ice." Ace declared, "let's jet!"

"Right!" Duck agreed, but when he tried to start up the engines on the jet pack, it just fizzled out.

"I may not be a techno-know-it-all, but something's telling me that the ice short-circuited the jet packs." Lola stated as she gingerly poked mine.

"Not to worry. Got a back-up plan, Tech?" Ace asked me.

"I'm glad you asked." I answered as I pulled out a remote control from my pocket and clicked a button and six black motorcycles sped towards us. "Great; if it isn't flying, it's driving." Lola gulped.

"Let's show these Vikings how to fly." Ace ordered as everyone jumped onto a bike and sped off. I got on the last one and turned to Lola. "Jump on Lola." I told her. She grimaced but did as I said, wrapping her arms around my waist tightly and pressing her chest into my back. "You do know how to ride this, right?" she asked me.

"Ride it? I designed it!" I laughed before pouring on the speed and chasing after the others, hearing Lola shriek over the wind as the motorbike transformed and turned into a flying air bike. We all flew around the ship, the dragon head cannon firing spitballs at us. "So let me guess, we're just waiting for it to stop firing at us?!" Lola asked over the roaring winds.

"Pretty much." I answered her, then internally cheered when they ran out of ammunition to fire at us. We all heard Ace ordering for us to unite, so I turned the bike around and followed after them into a cloud bank. "what in the world?" Lola simply asked before we all came back out of the cloud bank, but this time on a ship made from the bikes combined. "Tech, you've outdone yourself." Ace commented.

"You can say it. I'm a genius." I smiled as I piloted the ship.

"How about I say you're an amazing genius of a coyote and leave it at that?" Lola questioned me with a fond smile. "I can live with that." I smile back..

"Launch the torpedo!" Ace ordered. I pressed the middle orange button, releasing a single torpedo at the Viking's ship. "So long Ice geeks! Ha!" Duck laughed. But before the torpedo even got close enough to hitting the Viking ship it rose out of the water and started to fly. "Oh come on! That is so totally typical!" Lola exclaimed, "can't these guys come up with something original?"

"It won't be for long." I said as I pressed another button on the dashboard in front of me, setting the ship into flying mode. "Tech, you are the anthropomorphic man!" Lola laughed as the ship sailed through the air after the Vikings. After taking down their ship we landed beside the broken vessel and went on board. "With their ship down, do you think the big freeze is over, Tech?" Ace asked me as I examined one of the partially destroyed Viking bodies. The power drained from the body and reverted back into the helmet. "Guess that's where the power comes from; the horns on their helmets." Lola observed out loud from over my shoulder. Rev did a check check of the ship in case there were any other Vikings onboard. "Ok, this is just me throwing an idea here, but what if this was a distraction for us while Gunnar and the other Vikings went somewhere else?" Lola questioned out loud.

"If you're right, I'll personally pay for any clothes you happen to like on your shopping trip with Lexi." I offered. Rev fired up his in-built GSP system, and just like Lola guessed the remaining Vikings were headed to the planetary power grid. "that's not good. If they freeze the city's power core" I started when Lola grimaced.

"Let me guess, the whole planet gets frostbite?" she questioned then sighed heavily, "this is becoming a cliché. No offense, but it is."

"I don't blame you." Lexi agreed, "we so need a shopping trip after this." then she flashed me a sly grin, "which Tech has kindly offered to pay for." I couldn't help but grimace slightly. Who knows what sort of trouble I had gotten myself into now.

After flying to the power grid we got ready to go inside. Well, all but one. Since Lola didn't have any superpowers, letting her come inside with us seemed a bit on the suicidal side. "Lola, maybe you'd better sit this one out." Ace told her, "It could get pretty hairy in there."

"Look who's talking." She chuckled warmly, "relax, Ace. I can handle it."

"Are you sure?" Lexi asked.

"Positive." The human girl nodded, "I've been through worse scraps that what you guys found me in, and although I'm not a Rev, I can still run pretty fast."

"Well..."Ace looked undecided.

"Oh stop fussing over me already: we have a city to save." Lola told him as she pushed us in the back towards the door, "and by 'we' I mean 'you guys with a little help from me', deal?"

"Guess-that-answers-your-question." Rev commented. Once inside and our presence known to the remaining Vikings, so began the fight. I made sure to keep Lola next to me at all times, and keeping out of the war path. "Listen Tech, we gotta turn the tables on these guys!" Ace called to me.

"One word!" Lola offered, ducking a Viking's ice beam, "Reprogram!"

"Just keep them busy!" I told Ace, running to a side and scooping up a dismembered Viking helmet, "Lola with me!" She reached out and grasped my hand and ran after me. We made it to the side wall where I began to re-wire the Vikings helmet, Lola passing me the tools I might need.

"Not to be impatient, but could you go a little faster please?" she asked me after three minutes.

"You can't rush brilliance." I told her, in the middle of welding something.

"Not even if I ask you not to bother paying for any clothes I'm not likely to buy in the shopping trip with Lexi?" she questions, "I have a limited sense of fashion, and the only clothes I get are second-"

"Got it!" I announced and plug the helmet into a power socket just as Gunnar landed against the power grid itself. The power from Gunnar's helmet arced across the room and at me.

Great, living electricity conductor yet again.

As the power ran through my body, I was vaguely aware that the power was returning to the grid. After it was all done, I felt myself melt to the ground, quite literally. "Ah Tech, I was about to let them have it." I heard Duck complain. Did he really think I enjoyed playing living conductor or something?!

"Hey, where is Tech?" Lola asked, "wasn't he just here a second ago?"

"Ugh. Talk about taking one for the team." I groaned, catching their attention. The helmet was lifted off me, and Lola tried to stifle a scream. "Oh my god Tech, what happened?!" she asked in a panic.

"Relax Lola, I'm fine." I assured her before regenerating myself. She stared at me in complete shock.

"Yeah-its-one-of-his-powers-Molecular-Regeneration-he's-practically-indestructible-and-immortal." Rev explained to her, "why-do-you-like-upset?" That question caught me off guard, just like the sudden impact to my front. Whoever it was just wrapped their arms around my neck and leaned as close as they could against my body. "God, Tech. Don't scare me like that." Lola's quiet voice ordered me softly as she mumbled into my shoulder. I felt...I don't know, guilty somehow. I guess I should've told Lola I could regenerate myself before hand so she wouldn't get frightened. Seeing as that she needed comfort, and I was getting the 'do-something-to-make-her-feel-better' glare from both Lexi and Slam, I just wrapped my arms around Lola's waist and held her closer to me. 'Was is this feeling I'm getting?' I asked myself as I rested my chin on top of her head, gently swaying her from side to side to calm her.

Back at Loonatics headquarters everyone was doing their own thing. Ace was meditating again, Lexi was sitting in a beanbag reading a magazine. Duck as usual was in front of a mirror practising superhero poses and choosing a name again. Lola was sitting in the other bean bag, and I was sitting in between her legs with a pizza box next to me. She didn't say anything much as she ran her hands through my hair, which felt really relaxing. I placed a small gadget in the middle of the pizza box; all it did was cut the pizza into slices before offering one to me. "Want a slice, Lola?" I asked.

"No thank you." she replied, going back to running her fingers through my hair again. As if on cue, Slam burst into the room, having smelt the pizza. But before he got to close I flicked the gadget from the pizza box at Slam, which basically clamped his mouth shut, and just in time too: Zadavia was calling. "Loonatics, I just had to personally say to each and every one of you, job well done. The ice age is averted, the mutant techno Vikings destroyed and Acmetropolis is safe. Thanks to you, Ace, Rev, Lexi, Slam, Tech." And missing out on Duck. "And you, Lola." Zadavia said to her, "I hope you enjoy Acmetropolis. I have seen into your past." Lola just cringed slightly. "And I hereby recognize you as an official member of the Loonatics." Zadavia added, "Zadavia out." the holographic image disappeared, leaving opened mouthed Lola in the wake. "Nice look." I teased her, "Welcome to the team, Lola."


End file.
